Congress protests minister's remark on Sonia Gandhi

Congress workers on Thursday protested union Minister Giriraj Singh's remark on party president Sonia Gandhi's skin colour that triggered an outrage with many party leaders condemning it.

Over 50 Delhi Pradesh Mahila Congress members staged a demonstration outside the Bharatiya Janata Party's office at Ashoka Road here.

Holding Congress party flags, the protestors raised slogans against the minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises, and called for his resignation.

Giriraj Singh told reporters in Patna on Tuesday: "If Rajiv Gandhi had married a Nigerian and if she wasn't white-skinned, would the Congress have accepted her as a leader."

This comment triggered an outrage following which Giriraj Singh backtracked and said he regretted making the remark.

On Thursday, members of the Congress party raised slogans saying: "Naari ka apmaan. Modiji ki chuppi" (Modi is silent while women are being insulted).

"At least 46 women protestors were taken in a bus to the Tilak Marg police station where they were detained and released later," said a police official.

Earlier, a few Congress workers protested outside Vithal Bhai Patel House in New Delhi area around 9.30 a.m. and were detained by police.

"Some 30-32 people were protesting and were detained," Joint Commissioner of Police M.K. Meena told IANS.

Some of the protestors wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to act in the matter.